Lizard Head Plateau - overlook Upper Cathedral Lake?

Janice

Janice

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Later this month, we'll be in the southern Winds and plan to go from South Fork Lakes up to Lizard Head Plateau. On Caltopo it looks like it wouldn't be too hard to walk an extra mile (one way) east to the edge of the cliff and look down upon Upper Cathedral Lake and beyond further east. On Google Earth this looks do-able (non-technical). I realize I'm going to be plenty tired from ascending to the plateau, and we'll have to be mindful of weather, etc., but I'm curious if anyone here has done this. If so, what was it like and do you recommend we try it (energy, time, and conditions permitting) before going south on the plateau? Pallister describes other things in that area but not this.

Thanks.
 
With the caveat that I have not actually looked down on Upper Cathedral Lake, I don't think it would be a problem from a terrain point of view. I thought about doing it after climbing out of the South Fork basin, but it was too windy and it looked like a storm was coming.

Lizard Head plateau is probably what walking on Mars would feel like
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Looking forward to your trail report. I may lead a few from my hiking group to Skull/East Fk then over Washakie and Lizard Head next year. Want to show them there's more than just Titcomb and the Cirque.
 
Janice said:
Thanks so much @wsp_scott. If we make it to that spot, I'll be sure to let you know!
Click to expand...

I really liked the South Forks basin and even the climb up to the plateau, I wish the weather had cooperated more, because the plateau would be interesting to wander around for a couple of hours. Enjoy your trip
 
Hi-

We too are doing a backpack that will have us visit the South Fork Lakes and then climb over Lizard Head (via the standard trail). I too was wondering if you could reach the plateau more directly from the South Fork Lakes. Found two trip reports that might help you;

https://binocularsinthebackcountry.blogspot.com/2015/09/southern-wind-river-range.html

and

Wind River Range Question | Backpackers Basecamp

Hi everyone, Haven't visited much since the switch to the new forums but I'm glad to see they are functionally up again and getting some visits. I've gotten a lot of useful information in
bpbasecamp.freeforums.net bpbasecamp.freeforums.net

Think I am going to stick with the standard route since our nephews are joining us on this trip. They are novice backpackers and I do not want to subject them to a rough, off-trail route on their first journey.

Hope this helps.
 
Diane Greer said:
Hi-

We too are doing a backpack that will have us visit the South Fork Lakes and then climb over Lizard Head (via the standard trail). I too was wondering if you could reach the plateau more directly from the South Fork Lakes. Found two trip reports that might help you;

https://binocularsinthebackcountry.blogspot.com/2015/09/southern-wind-river-range.html

and

Wind River Range Question | Backpackers Basecamp

Hi everyone, Haven't visited much since the switch to the new forums but I'm glad to see they are functionally up again and getting some visits. I've gotten a lot of useful information in
bpbasecamp.freeforums.net bpbasecamp.freeforums.net

Think I am going to stick with the standard route since our nephews are joining us on this trip. They are novice backpackers and I do not want to subject them to a rough, off-trail route on their first journey.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Pallister's book has two routes between the South Lakes and Lizard Head Plateau, they both go up the same crease but diverge near the top. It was not too hard climbing up, but I would not take a rookie on this route.

Enjoy the South Lakes, it is an impressive basin
 
Thanks - we're planning to use Pallister's route. We're no longer novices, but I know I'll be huffing and puffing going up that ascent. Our friend planned the route, and he did that same part last September. He knows our abilities and thinks we can do it. Fingers crossed that it's dry that day!
 
Have fun on your backpack. Upon your return, please post some photos of the route up Lizard Head from the South Fork Lakes.
 
@wsp_scott We made it! After climbing up from stunning South Fork Lakes, we dropped our packs and walked the easy terrain to the edge of the plateau. I was thrilled the weather was good and we were able to do this!

Heading east after dropping our packs
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Almost there...
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Ta da!
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It's probably possible to go down down down at this part which isn't as sheer a drop-off as the other parts.
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But instead, we lay down on our bellies and looked over the edge. If you you look closely, you can see my husband in his blue shirt.
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After enjoying the scene for a little while, we headed back to get our packs, and you can see the rest of my group walking. We had an amazing day on the rest of the plateau. Magical!
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@Diane Greer
Like @wsp_scott and @RyanP, for novices, I don't recommend the off-trail route from South Fork Lakes to Lizard Head. My husband enjoyed it a lot, and I liked it but found myself really relying on my poles to keep my footing and not slide back due to my heavy pack. Two of our friends were very uncomfortable with the exposure and loose rocks. I wanted to take photos for you, and I managed to get a few on the easy parts (see below), but on the challenging parts it clearly would have upset my groupmates if I had stopped for pictures, and it didn't appeal to me to pull out my phone then anyway. We talked to a dad and his young adult son who walked around rather than going up off-trail, and they seemed fine with having done the on-trail route, so I imagine your group will be fine with that, too. It is COMPLETELY worth it to go into the South Fork Lakes area - the cirque and lakes there are stunning! (TR coming soon...)

Pausing after one of the challenging sections
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On the easy part almost at the top
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Thanks for the photos. Our group visited the gorgeous South Forks Lake basin on a day hike from Valentine Lake. We spent a wonderful day wandering around the basin and visiting all of the lakes. We only saw two other people the entire day. Every time I visit this basin I marvel at the beauty of the area. South Forks Lake is truly an underappreciated part of the Winds!

The next day we crossed Lizard Head. This was the right decision for our group.

Thanks again for sharing the photos.
 
Took my daughter (20 at the time) up to Lizard Head Plateau from South Fork Lakes on her first big backpacking trip. It is a little steep in places but not technical at all. It is a beautiful area and the views will help take your mind off of your burning thigh muscles! 20180806_114807.jpg
 
@Diane Greer - I forgot to mention one thing. This may already be in your plan, but if not I highly recommend once you're up on Lizard Head and you're near Cathedral Peak go west of the trail to a great overlook of South Fork Lakes. There's a high spot around 11,600' (you'll see two little circles on the topo map) where there's a wonderful view similar to what @hikeer shows but from higher up. Enjoy!
 
Plan to loop over Lizard Head from S. Fk lakes in about 10 days...probably all on trail. Have about 10 miles that day already so was wondering whether climbing part of the way up Cathedral Peak made sense to get better views to the WSW. If hazy/smoky or it looks like a storm is building, won't bother. But, I've seen photos of great views from Chauvenet. Would climbing an extra 500' up and down improve the view much?
 
I don't know - we really enjoyed the view to the west from the edge of plateau, and it's possible that you'd see a lot more from the top of Cathedral but maybe not. We didn't consider doing that, especially as I was intrigued by the easy Cathedral Lakes overlook and our group was willing to go there for me. Cathedral Peak has a gradual ascent, and I wonder if the view is somewhat limited because it doesn't have a sharper drop-off. This was our view of Cathedral Peak as we were walking south of it, going east toward the lake overlook:
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No matter what, I hope you have a great trip!
 
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